About NCCN

The National Comprehensive Cancer Network® (NCCN®) opened its 17th Annual Conference with a roundtable discussion entitled, Cancer and Corporate America: Business as Usual? ABC News veteran and anchor, Sam Donaldson, moderated the opening session, as he has for the past six years, telling the hundreds of conference attendees that 58 percent of non-elderly Americans rely on their employers for their health insurance. He asked, "What is business as usual when it comes to delivering cancer care?"

The panel, some of whom are cancer survivors, included experts from business, industry, medicine, and public policy and addressed a range of issues that businesses face today in defining quality cancer care and developing the necessary methods to assure that their employee populations have access to that care. They also discussed both opportunities and barriers to delivering excellent cancer care from a variety of perspectives and took on the difficult issues related to health care reform. This year's topic grew out of the ongoing collaboration between the National Business Group on Health and NCCN, which is working to develop standards and tools to assist corporations in this increasingly complex area.

Sam Donaldson opened the discussion by asking the panel, "What do companies owe their employees in terms of delivering high-quality cancer care?"

Helen Darling addressed that question saying "Great companies believe in investing in their employees, and providing excellent health care is central to that belief." She noted that companies who participate in the National Business Group on Health are committed to assuring that their employees have the tools and resources they need when they are diagnosed with cancer. She emphasized that providing health navigators to support patients as they navigate the complex pathways of the system is one example of this commitment.

J. Randall MacDonald, who oversees medical benefits for IBM, agreed but noted, "The reality is that this is a business proposition. A healthy employee is a productive employee." He stressed, however, the need for evidence-based means of deciding what is effective and not effective in delivering care.

J. Brent Pawlecki, MD, MMM, pointed to three factors that help employers assure that their employees are "healthy, engaged, and productive." These include an emphasis on preventive medicine, obtaining the "right care at the right place at the right time," and focusing more on end-of-life care.

"How will cancer change my life?" That's the question that every patient asks according to Robert W. Carlson, MD, and one area of major concern is their ability to work. Patients worry about job security, adequate health insurance, and the response that their diagnosis will evoke from employers and co-workers.

John S. Greene pointed to the support he received from his entire company following his diagnosis in November 2010 and noted that Salesforce.com CEO Marc Benioff made it clear that "the company is here for you; I am here for you."

Sam Donaldson then pressed the panel to address the issue of cost in providing excellent cancer care. J. Randall MacDonald whose company employs more than 500,000 people and spends $1.2 billion a year on health care for its employees stated, "Cost is an issue," and noted that he constantly has to balance individuals' needs and requests with the larger issues of running the business.

Helen Darling pointed to identifying and reducing waste within the system as a key to controlling costs. "It's what you pay for, not what you pay," she said and that "by shifting wasted dollars to more effective, evidence-based medicine, you create budget room to pay for what works."

"We need to take a step back," Sheri S. McCoy agreed, "and make sure that we invest in research and development. We need to know who benefits from a treatment and who doesn't."

Carol Klase, PhD, a mental health professional, stressed the need to include mental health in benefits, reminding the panel that "the psychological problems can be as big as the cancer itself."

Sam Donaldson's final question focused on new health care legislation, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), which would guarantee access to health insurance for all Americans. He noted that 60 million Americans currently do not have health insurance and asked the group if the law helps patients with cancer.

Kavita Patel, MD, MSHS, who was instrumental in developing the legislation, answered in the affirmative, saying that the new law "evens the playing field for cancer patients," and pointed to provisions that would make it impossible to exclude people with pre-existing conditions from insurance plans as one improvement.

Helen Darling noted the expanded coverage will make it even more important to assure that medicine is evidence-based. She described the work that her organization is doing with NCCN as a model for solving problems. "If we have appropriate guidelines and we make sure every patient gets an appropriate assessment, then the benefits will be covered and the decisions will be driven by evidence and research."

Robert W. Carlson, MD, concluded the discussion with a strong statement that summarized the complex issues that the panel addressed during the session. "We need to make sure the system is configured so that employees fight their cancers, so they don't waste time fighting their insurance companies or being concerned about their employment."